Mantis Boxer Meets A Karateka - A Chat with Iain Abernethy

Mantis Boxer Meets A Karateka - A Chat with Iain Abernethy

I have a great first-time conversation for all of you today. I’m joined by Iain Abernethy, a karateka from the UK. Iain runs a popular YouTube channel known as PracticalKataBunkai, is the author of multiple books, and DVD’s, and travels the world teaching Karate.

Over the past year or two…

Fight Chat with Jerry Liu of Fight Commentary Breakdowns

Fight Chat with Jerry Liu of Fight Commentary Breakdowns

Jerry Liu of 'Fight Commentary Breakdowns' & 'FC Chats' stopped by for a great discussion. Jerry runs some popular YouTube channels but has been a life long martial artist from Kung Fu as a kid, to Kempo, Muay Thai, and BJJ as he continues his journey. Join us as we go the rounds and attempt to change one another's minds, or agree on topics such as:

His Dark Roots - Interview with Stephen Kesting

His Dark Roots - Interview with Stephen Kesting

For this podcast my friend and BJJ Black Belt Stephen Kesting stops by to chat about his background in Judo, Kung Fu, and his eventual shift to BJJ. We also discuss the current state of BJJ, where it is heading, and wrap up with…

Pandora's Box of Podcasts - Martial Arts Psychology with Sensei Ando

Pandora's Box of Podcasts - Martial Arts Psychology with Sensei Ando

Today's podcast is with my good friend and martial arts aficionado, Sensei Ando of SenseiAndo.com, and Happy Life Martial Arts. We may very well have opened Pandora's Box here with this discussion. In his first appearance on my podcast, Sensei Ando and I discuss…

Guest Appearance: Fight Commentary Chats w/ Jerry Liu

Guest Appearance: Fight Commentary Chats w/ Jerry Liu

I recently had the privilege to be invited on Jerry’s new podcast - Fight Commentary Chats. Some of you may have come across Jerry already in your YouTube travels…

10 Principles of Success for Boxers

10 Principles of Success for Boxers
  • Understand the liability, pluses, and minuses of each position and movement.

  • Increase our level of skill through easy to understand diagnostics.

  • Turn our failures into success.

So often in the fighting arts, we lack…

5 Tips to Setup Your Home for Martial Arts Training

5 Tips to Setup Your Home for Martial Arts Training

Here are 5 tips to help you with setting up, and training martial arts (boxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, wrestling, judo, etc.) at home. Today I'll go over good training practices to make sure you stay with your training, ideal locations and how to adapt to what type of space you live in, types of heavy bags and how to size them, throwing dummies, grappling dummies, and type of mats you want to look for if you do any ground work/takedowns/grappling or wrestling.

What is Active Recovery? w/ Dr. Kate Kelly - Training Tips, Injuries, Training for Women, Aging/Adapting

What is Active Recovery? w/ Dr. Kate Kelly - Training Tips, Injuries, Training for Women, Aging/Adapting

Today I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Dr. Kate Kelly of Active Recovery Boston [ https://www.activerecoveryboston.com/ ]. Dr. Kelly has helped me work through a myriad of injuries over the past 10+ years. She is one of my first stops whenever I have something getting in the way of my training.

We had a great discussion on…

Scholar Warrior Interview - Dr. Peter Lorge

Scholar Warrior Interview - Dr. Peter Lorge

Delve into the history of Chinese boxing, famous generals, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, UFC leg locks, gunpowder, internal vs. externals, and all things martial arts, as I interview Dr. Peter Lorge, author of Chinese Martial Arts from Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century.

Using Chess to Solve Martial Arts Problems

Using Chess to Solve Martial Arts Problems

Latest podcast on tackling and solving difficult problems we have in martial arts forms/kata/tao lu. Check out these tips I used to improve, that are found in Chess.

"How Long Does It Take To Be A Black Belt?"

"How Long Does It Take To Be A Black Belt?"

Let’s answer this common question in martial arts with some good ole fashion math!

How to Defeat the BJJ Guard in 4 Easy Steps

How to Defeat the BJJ Guard in 4 Easy Steps

End the frustration!

Have you ever wanted to try one of the amazing submissions or sweeps from Brazilian jiu-jitsu and instead, spent the entire class stuck in guard? Do you find it impossible to pass guard because you cannot even break the guard in the first place? Do you routinely break guard on people your own size, only to be shutdown and back to square one against a larger opponent?

Guest Appearance: Are Forms/Kata a Waste of Time in Martial Arts? w/ Sensei Ando

Guest Appearance: Are Forms/Kata a Waste of Time in Martial Arts? w/ Sensei Ando

I had the great pleasure of returning once more as a guest on Sensei Ando’s channel Happy Life Martial Arts. We had an amazing, and thought provoking discussion on martial arts forms training, solo training, and more. We even threw some virtual punches, and a shadow Heimlich maneuver was almost necessary. Check out the video for a great podcast.

Our Brain on Solo Training

Our Brain on Solo Training

How our brain and body benefit from solo training in martial arts. But there are pitfalls too.

How to Train Martial Arts on Your Own

How to Train Martial Arts on Your Own

These times require us to innovate and adapt to the changes in our lives, routines, and day to day activities. For weeks many of us have been without a class to attend. The good news? We can still train martial arts without a class or partners, and continue to develop our skills and improve.

What does it take to make this happen? You can watch this video I made this week telling a story on why I had to learn to train myself in martial arts, or you can skip below and jump to the bullet points so you don’t have to wait any longer to train.

Either way, rest assured

Are Head Hits in Boxing/MMA Good or Bad? The Truth...

Are Head Hits in Boxing/MMA Good or Bad? The Truth...

Is getting hit in the head bad for us when we train in martial arts such as boxing, MMA, kickboxing, karate, muay thai, etc.??? Here is how I see it, and what I did to my students to make them train smarter. Being educated on the truth can keep us training safe for years to come.

Countering the Hip Toss

Countering the Hip Toss

Ever been mistaken for a sack of potatoes? Do you dislike being dislodged from the earth you stand on, turned upside down and dropped on your head or back? Here’s a little tip to counter that nasty hip toss throw your opponent might try out of mistaken identity, or something more nefarious.

Size Matters - Tiger Tail vs Hip Toss Throw

Size Matters - Tiger Tail vs Hip Toss Throw

The hip toss, and its variations such as 'overturn the sack', and 'old man carries fish', are awesome and devastating throws. However, there are complications for these throws when applied outside of competitions where weight classes keep opponents generally closer in size to one another. Depending on your size, the hand position, and the choice between using the tiger tail throw instead of hip toss can mean all the difference in success rather than failure.

Size Matters in BJJ!!! - The Omaplata Submission

Size Matters in BJJ!!! - The Omaplata Submission

Here are a few tips if you are a smaller grappler trying to submit larger opponents with the omoplata submission from Brazilian jiu-jitsu. This can drastically alter our success rate for finishing, rather than struggling to combat height, strength, and counters.